Seventeen years after his death, Michael Jackson continues to make a remarkable impression on the UK albums market. According to Official Charts Company figures at the end of the third quarter, his 2005 compilation The Essential Michael Jackson was the biggest album of 2026 so far.
Event date: October 15, 2026 · Oldies Radyo | Music News
More than 508,000 chart units — not simply physical copies
The Essential Michael Jackson accumulated more than 508,000 UK chart units across the first nine months of 2026. Chart units account for streams and downloads alongside physical purchases, so this figure should not be presented as 508,000 CDs or vinyl records sold. It also describes a year-to-date ranking, not the final result for the whole of 2026.
Thriller and Bad are still major players
Jackson’s 1982 landmark Thriller ranked 16th on the same year-to-date list, while his 1987 album Bad appeared at Number 20. Having three albums in the Top 20 points to the continuing strength of a catalogue that includes Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller, Smooth Criminal and Man in the Mirror.
What has brought the music back into focus?
Official Charts links renewed attention to Jackson’s catalogue to the release of the biographical film Michael in April 2026. Our earlier feature explored the film’s production and cultural impact; this report concentrates on the UK chart figures. The definitive year-end rankings remain to be determined.
From Oldies Radyo
The records may be decades old, but the listeners are not all from the same generation. Jackson’s enduring appeal is visible in a contemporary chart populated by recent releases. Read our related feature: https://oldiesradyo.com/en/2026/10/06/michael-jackson-michael-film-research/
Archive photograph: Michael Jackson, 1988. Alan Light / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_Jackson,_1988.jpg. The photograph does not depict the 2026 chart announcement.
